Matthew BaileyThe few times I’ve played it, I’ve never been a massive fan of the original Mysterium, and as such, I never gave Mysterium Kids: Captain Echo’s Treasure that much time or attention. But having picked it up in a sale and finally, after having it sat on my shelf for a good while, giving it a chance over this Halloween season, I’ve got to say I was definitely wrong to sleep on it. Mysterium Kids: Captain Echo’s Treasure is great fun for your little ones this Halloween.
The concept of Mysterium Kids: Captain Echo’s Treasure is fairly simple. Essentially, you work as a team to guess which card the person playing as the ghost is trying to describe based on the sounds they create using the included tambourine.
You can play on either the easy or difficult setting, which basically determines how many cards you need to guess correctly in order to do well. The player acting as the ghost looks at a random token that tells them whether they’re describing cards one, two, three, four, or five. On the more difficult setting, some turns require you to describe two cards in one go.
The ghost then uses the tambourine to make sounds that represent the image they’re trying to describe. This can involve tapping, banging, scraping, or scratching, and there’s also a ribbon around the edge that makes a rubbing-type sound. We also had success spinning it, tapping it on the table, or clanking it backwards and forwards to get the most accurate sound possible.
Now, while you might be thinking, “Oh, that sounds like a bit of fun,” and that’s exactly what I thought when I read the rules, when you actually play Mysterium Kids: Captain Echo’s Treasure, it’s unbelievably compelling. Once you really get into it and start finding creative ways to make sounds, it becomes so much fun. We absolutely loved our time playing it, and in one evening we actually ended up cancelling the second game we were going to play because the boys wanted to keep playing Mysterium Kids: Captain Echo’s Treasure.
My only slight concern is that while there are loads of cards, even in the time we played there were a couple of times when cards we’d had before came up again. It was then quite easy to do exactly the same as before, which made it obvious when guessing. I think if you played Mysterium Kids: Captain Echo’s Treasure quite a few times, you’d start to recognise the same pictures and remember the sounds people make for them. I’m not saying that’s a reason not to get it, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you like games with lots of long-term replayability.
The components are excellent. Everything is beautifully coloured with a really nice spooky purple hue. Nothing is scary, it’s just a lovely, atmospheric Halloween vibe. The cards are good quality, the board is sturdy, and the tambourine itself is really nicely made, which adds to the overall experience. It’s the sort of game where, if you can, try playing in a slightly darkened room with some low lighting or spooky Halloween candles to really set the scene. It’s perfect for the upcoming Halloween weekend.
I was really surprised by how much I liked Mysterium Kids: Captain Echo’s Treasure, especially as I’m not a massive fan of Mysterium, which I think goes on a bit long and feels a little too abstract. But this was great fun, all the kids loved it, and it’s a big recommendation from me.
